Utterly usurped by his addictions, he was a nightmare to behold, particularly in his last decades - his toenails long and filthy, hair unkempt and unwashed, teeth unbrushed ; he did not like to bathe. Drugs twisted his character too, forced him to lie, cheat, sell his instruments even. Mostly he could be counted on to be conniving and apathetic, what a human being becomes deep into drugs. Still his music arose out of this muck, like a lotus springs from mud.
Chet Baker and His Abandoned Shadows
Arya F. Jenkins
jerryjazzmusiciam.com
2016
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David Diehl
